The first thing I noticed when I placed Ravin’s new LR crossbow up against my shoulder: how much it felt like a rifle. The length and balance, the weight, the eye height of the scope all added to the rifle feel. Much wider than a rifle, of course, due to the crossbow’s limbs, but still, rifle close. And damn near rifle accurate, too, at least out to 100 yards.
The LR stands for “Long Range.” Ravin rates the bow as accurate out to 135 yards, launching an arrow (Ravin terms them arrows, not “bolts”) at 450 fps and packing 180 ft.-lbs. of kinetic energy. Given the pair of three-bolt groups I shot at 100 yards, I don’t doubt 135 yards is very possible. However, for crossbow hunting I’m in the 50-yards-and-under club. Crossbow shooting at football field length is cool and fun but it strikes me as a fine distance for wounding game. All that said, the LR’s overall accuracy was impressive. It functioned nearly perfectly and right out of the box it’s almost ready to hunt.
“Almost,” as you have to mount the included 1-8x24mm scope. All necessary mounting hardware and a scope level are part of the LR package. But do use thread locking compound on the screws in this mounting hardware, as the back-and-forth crossbow vibrations will definitely loosen your scope mount (as I discovered midway through my first shooting session!). The scope provided clean and sharp-edged images during my shooting and featured a red illuminated reticle with 10 brightness settings, plus elevation and windage adjustments at .25 MOA.
Zeroing my LR at 20 yards per the owner’s manual instructions, my first arrows hit nearly a foot high and a few inches left. I removed the elevation and windage caps and click-clicked my next shots down until arrows were on target and hitting side by side. My Garmin Zero C1 Pro chronograph put the arrows at 447 fps at launch.
I replaced the elevation turret cap, tightened the three screws to anchor it to the turret and then affixed the correct (and included) fps-based Turret Tape to the cap. Then, and still following instructions, I shot at 50 yards. Elevation was spot on, but the arrows impacted left. I made the necessary adjustments and pegged in three arrows on the bullseye at 2.25 inches, center shaft to center shaft.
To cock and load the LR, I pushed down on the thumb release at the rear of the bow and up inside the stock, then slid the TRAC Trigger Firing System housing down the length of the bow until it clicked into place over the string. Then, I placed the head of the crank handle over the recessed hole on the right side of the stock (I’m right-handed, but there is also a recessed cocking hole left side of the stock) and, thumb release still down, turned the handle clockwise until the TRAC housing returned into place. This took approximately 12 full revolutions of the cranking handle. Making sure the safety was on, I inserted the nock end of an arrow under the riser archway and guided the arrow down the length of the bow and into the center of the TRAC housing. I applied pressure on the arrow until the nock made an audible “click,” the signal the nock and arrow were secured and ready to launch. In addition to the manual, ambidextrous safety, the LR features Ravin’s Anti-Dry Fire/Auto Safety system. The Anti-Dry Fire mechanism will only disengage and allow firing of the bow when a Ravin arrow is fully inserted into the trigger mechanism and the Ravin clip-on nock is clipped onto the bowstring.
It was all initially a bit awkward for a rifle guy like me, but with a half-dozen shots I was comfortable and on target. The cheek comb and stock were adjustable, though the unit fit me just fine as it arrived. The wide deck kept my fingers out of the way of the strings, while the rubberized fore-end grip and pistol grip made for a firm hold. Ravin’s HeliCoil technology powers the crossbow. HeliCoil keeps the cams perfectly level throughout the draw cycle, reducing string friction and increasing speed and accuracy.
At 50 yards from a rest, my very best group of three came in at 1.5 inches and my average was just over 2 inches. I shot two 100-yard groups at 2.25 and 2.4 inches. I ended my shooting with the LR at 30 yards offhand. I initially shot a 3-inch group, then a 2-incher and my last three drilled in at 1.5 inches. Throughout my testing, I used Ravin’s Premium arrows made of carbon fiber, 21 inches long and weighing 400 grains (when outfitted with the 100-grain Ravin field tips). The LR package includes three of these arrows and field points, plus a scope level, three-arrow quiver, a crank handle and Ravin’s premium arrow rest.
That level of high-tech accuracy does not come cheap and the LR totes a hefty $2,500 suggested retail. That’s a lot of “cry once” cash, but the result is a lot of crossbow.
Decisions, decisions.
Ravin LR Crossbow
- ravincrossbows.com
- Type: dual-cam crossbow
- Riser: aluminum, CNC
- Limbs: quad limb, composite, split
- Cam(s): Ravin HeliCoil
- Grip: over-molded polymer
- String: Ravin proprietary
- Axle-to-Axle Length: 10.5" uncocked, 6" fully cocked
- Draw Force: 12 lbs.
- Power Stroke: 13"
- Speed Rating: 450 fps
- Overall Weight: 8.10 lbs.
- Overall Length: 34"
- Finish: Flat Dark Earth
- Accessories: removable crank handle, removable quiver/mounting bracket, 3 Ravin .001 Premium arrows w/field points, 1-8x24 adjustable turret scope w/turret tape
- MSRP: $2,549.99
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